


We Still Are Made Of Greed

by gayandreadytopartay



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Asexual Ruby Rose (RWBY), Bisexual Blake Belladonna, Blood and Injury, Character Death, Drugs, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Flirty Yang Xiao Long, Gun Violence, Gunshot Wounds, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Lesbian Weiss Schnee, Medical Inaccuracies, More like a leisure walk to the store slow, More tags later, Multi, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Nonbinary Blake Belladonna, Pansexual Yang Xiao Long, Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression, Slow Burn, So here we are, lawyer weiss is sus, oblivious blake is oblivious, oscar is ozpin's adopted kid, ozpin is even more sus, white rose doesn't make sense with how i'm writing, you may noticed it changed from bees to bees schnees
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:08:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25707205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayandreadytopartay/pseuds/gayandreadytopartay
Summary: Blake Belladonna is a journalist for hire, and they come back to Vale after three years in Anima. Fifteen missing people, suspicious dust experiments, and even more suspicious friends lead Blake to discover the layers in Vale. Layers that pull Blake deeper into the chaos.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos (One-Sided), Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted a crime/romance Bumbleby fic. I also want people to enjoy one, so here we are.
> 
> I jumped on the NB!Blake Belladonna, by the way.

Street lamps in the streets of Vale shine bright, illuminating the fresh rain on the concrete and buildings. Few people walking in the downpour swiftly cover themselves with their jackets or hoods, racing to leave the awful weather.

Blake adjusts their glasses by pushing up the bridge with their index finger, and they frown at the weather. Their amber eyes dart to the left, then to the right. Where is she?

"Oh!" A surprised exclamation comes from behind the cat Faunus, and they turn to greet her source and friend. There stands a well-built female with firetruck red hair, her form swallowed slightly by the dark green turtleneck sweater she has on. A smile forms on her face. "Hello again! Were you here long?"

Blake shakes their head. "Not at all. Want to sit down in the cafe?"

The woman hesitates. "Blake, I'm not sure that's a good idea. I know Vale is… _more relaxed_ with Faunus than other places, but it still has their people,"

"So that place is racist?"

"Not _racist_ , but…" Seeing the raised eyebrow and pursed lips, the woman sighs. "Yes, they're racist."

"That's okay; this won't take too long anyway. Thanks for the scoop, Pyrrha," Blake finally smiles and holds out their hand to the street. "Shall we?"

Pyrrha giggles. She pads forward and lies a hand on Blake's shoulder. "We shall," The redhead takes the lead by marching forward with a slight wink to the Faunus. Blake shakes their head with a small chuckle.

The impromptu trip took less than ten minutes, and the pair ended up at Pyrrha's apartment near the Vale docks. Blake brings their mug to mouth to sip gratefully at the tea their friend provided for them. They set their mug down and pull their scroll from the inner pocket of their sherpa lined denim jacket and place it next to their mug, recording any audio.

"Blake Belladonna. Investigating the abrupt disappearances of people around the kingdom of Vale," Blake leans back into the soft gray armchair, and Pyrrha rests on the soft to their left. "Pyrrha Nikos is providing further intel on the matter.

"Pyrrha, what can you tell me about these people who went missing?"

Pyrrha sighs and glances towards the only window in the living room. Her leg bounces. "I never knew them personally, but I've heard about them in passing. Some of them were here visiting someone or for the festivals that happen around this time of year, but the others live here," She shakes her head at the cockiness these snatchers must have to take people while others were still roaming around. "Fifteen people are gone, and before they went missing, a lot of dust was taken from dust shops. I don't think that was a coincidence."

"Dust?"

"Yes," Pyrrha sighs and drums her fingers on the meat of her thigh. "Dust went missing only to turn back up near the borders like nothing ever happened."

Blake follows Pyrrha's scared gaze to the window. Their cat ears swivel and flick at the constant tapping Pyrrha's heel made against the hardwood floor. "Do you have a clue on who these people may be? Any theories as to how they took them?"

"Not in the slightest. I had a hunch at first, but now I'm not too sure about it," At Blake's curious stare, Pyrrha meets their gaze with a grimace. "I thought it was those Branwen Bandits, but they're always in Anima."

"And there's no other criminal who'd steal dust?"

Pyrrha thinks for a moment before shaking her head. "No. Roman Torchwick went off the grid a while ago, and the White Fang—" Blake flinches acutely. "—they're also inactive. So, unless Torchwick is secretly working from the shadows, it has to be someone familiar to Vale, and Sanus in general."

"Thank you, Pyrrha," Blake hits stop on the audio recording, and they sink back into the armchair. "God, who knew journalism could be _this hard_? I can barely get interviews with tons of people."

Pyrrha laughs in good nature, but her eyes drift to the window again. "Jaune told you not to do it because one of his many sisters is going gray from the job. Wait… is that a gray-hair?"

Blake rolls their eyes and fixes their glasses, which had slid down their nose. "Oh, har har. You really like knocking my self-esteem down, don't you?"

"Guilty,"

A chuckle makes its way out of the cat Faunus. "D'you know who I could talk to next?"

Pyrrha has a thoughtful look on her face and she opens her mouth, glancing at the window for a split second. She nods. "I believe Weiss is still in town; maybe forever. She moved back from Atlas a few months ago and hasn't mentioned leaving Vale,"

The hopeful raise of eyebrows and the wide smile on Blake's face contorts, melting into a slight scowl. "Seriously? Weiss?"

"I know you two've had your…" The redhead struggles to collect her thoughts and dish them into words. " _disagreements_ in the past, but she's changed."

"Weiss Schnee,"

"Yes,"

"Sounds fake,"

"I know, but—"

"But nothing!" Blake snaps. They put their face in their hands and groan. "She can't change from how she used to be."

Weiss and Blake used to be friends with Pyrrha acting as the middleman until the two were comfortable around each other. They did everything together, from trash-talking Jacques Schnee to gossiping about random things. Three years ago had been the high of Blake's life; they got into writing, Weiss denied her title as heiress and went out of her way to be a lawyer, and the two of them found love. Until it all came crashing down due to Blake's oblivious nature.

And now _Pyrrha_ of all people wants Blake to walk her butt over to wherever the hell Weiss decided to hold herself up and ask— _politely_ , of course—for an interview for these innocent missing people. Weiss Schnee isn't innocent, and Blake doesn't trust their lives in some stuck-up's hands.

Standing with a slight sigh, Pyrrha rubs soothing circles on Blake's tense shoulder blades. Blake looks up from their hands. "I'll go with you, if you want,"

"Please,"

Pyrrha nods with an encouraging smile. "C'mon then! We can do this interview now and then you won't have to see Weiss again if you don't want," She reaches down and grabs Blake's hands and pulls them up off of the armchair. "Then we can go see Ren and Nora, maybe even Jaune if he's home."

Blake's ears slowly come to life and perk on top of her head. "That sounds amazing,"

"See? Friends make it all better! Now, grab your stuff and I'll get my car,"

"The one you haven't driven since last year?"

"Hey!"

———

Across the street in an office building being renovated is a man and a woman. The man has a sniper rifle loaded and propped up on the half-open window, and the woman is lazily spinning a pen between her fingers.

The man grunts and pulls his eye away from staring down the scope. "Has the boss given our orders yet? I'm gettin' bored,"

"No, she hasn't. Can't handle recon?"

"I can. Just wanna have some fun,"

The woman scoffs, and the pen she's spinning comes to a sharp halt between her middle and index finger. She points the pen at the sniper. "You may have the accuracy, but I have the goods. I can make you freak out with just a stab of this pen if I wanted,"

"Geez, okay," The man rolls his eyes. He returns to staring down the scope of his rifle, the cross pointed at a familiar redhead and a cat Faunus. "Invincible Girl's got a partner, huh? That's cute."

———

"Tell me why we're doing this again?"

"So you can get your story! I may not have been that much help, but Weiss knows things,"

Blake rolls their eyes with a scowl. "Of course she does,"

Pyrrha tuts and gently elbows them in the side. "Behave,"

"Fine, mom,"

The receptionist looks up from his place behind the desk with a kind smile. "Miss Schnee will see you now,"

The duo nod at the receptionist and make their way to the elevators. Blake crosses their arms and huffs once inside an elevator.

"What lawyer needs an elevator in the first place?"

"I'm not too sure, Blake," Pyrrha sounds oddly detatched while saying this, a faraway look in her eyes. Blake nervously eyes her taller friend. The redhead breaks out of her head and smiles. "Whatever the reason, it must be for the dust Weiss keeps for… experimentation."

"But dust experimentation was..." The elevator doors open, and Pyrrha rushes out. Blake worriedly follows their friend. "banned because of the incidents."

The walls bend and stretch around Blake as they make their way over to Pyrrha. "Is it just me or are the walls being weird?"

Pyrrha knocks on the door, ignoring their question. A quick "Come in!" has the redhead opening the door for Blake. "After you,"

Blake clutches the strap on their tattered messenger bag as they step into the freezing office. They swallow harshly when the white-haired woman at the desk glances up with a shocked gasp.

"Blake?" Weiss quickly stands and buttons her popped dress shirt collar. She smoothes down the wrinkles of her dress pants and smiles. "What a pleasure seeing you here!"

Blake narrows their eyes. "Feeling's not mutual,"

The hopeful glint in icy blue eyes dim, and the smile droops to a neutral line. Her gaze flickers down to the all-too-familiar bag on Blake's hip, and she chuckles sardonically.

"I thought our first meeting after three years would be over coffee, not an interview for that blog of yours," Weiss sharply says and takes her seat. She flicks her hand. "Sit down."

Blake takes a seat and pulls out their stereotypical journalist notepad. "I don't have a blog anymore, Weiss,"

"Details, details,"

Pyrrha sits down beside Blake, an uncomfortable smile on her face. "Why don't we just move this interview along?"

Weiss sighs and looks to Blake. "What is it?"

"I want to know about those people who went missing,"

The lawyer sits up ramrod straight, open expression now closed off and hardened. The shift is so sudden that Blake's ears fold back in fear of a surprise attack. Weiss narrows her eyes, and the scar is much more threatening.

"Who told you?"

Blake freezes. "Told me what?"

The stiffness in Weiss slowly unwinds, but the tense of her shoulders say she's still on edge. "Nothing,"

Blake looks over to Pyrrha for more insight, but the redhead is staring out of the window. What the hell happened in Vale while she made a career in Anima? They turn back to Weiss.

"I-I just want to know if there's anything you might know. I know that you know that dust has been going missing only to turn up days later at the borders of Vale," Blake shrinks under the stern glare. Her hands tremble. "SDC dust, and you keep your eye on the company."

Weiss leans back in her chair and locks her fingers together, still observing the way Blake fidgets under her watchful gaze. She nods with a thoughtful, pouted bottom lip. "Yes. I do," She sits back up and leans her elbows against her polished mahogany desk, chin resting on her interlaced fingers. "I suppose it's only fair I do this for you since the wound is still fresh from years ago. The SDC apparently has no idea who's stealing the dust, but it has some sort of connection to those fifteen people missing."

Blake swiftly jots that down and looks up. "Anything else?"

Weiss is silent for a long moment, as if she is tasting the question to see how to answer it properly. "There _is_ another connection, but I have no idea what it is," She's lying. Blake grits their teeth together.

"Pyrrha told me about dust experimentation," Pyrrha startles and looks at Blake, but they have their amber eyes on Weiss. "Care to tell me what that's about when dust experiments were banned _everywhere_ in Remnant."

The lawyer hums. "If you avoid the law, anything is legal," She cryptically says, but she doesn't allow Blake to fish around for another question about it. "You know how dust sets up our world and provides the bare necessities; all of this we learned in college. Dust helps the world, but in many ways can hurt it as well. Fire dust, for example, can be used by those for a quick way to set up a campfire, but can also be used to harm others in arson. I want to see if dust can be used in unorthodox ways.

"And besides, I have… _special_ permission to do so," Weiss finishes. Her icy eyes hold a certain challenge in them. "Will that be all?"

Blake nods stiffly. "I suppose so," They shove their notes back in their messenger bag and stand. "Have a great rest of the day."

Pyrrha rises to her feet and says something too soft for Blake's feline features to catch before returning to their side. The redhead pats the jet black-haired woman on the back.

"Are you okay?"

"Peachy,"

Pyrrha leads Blake out of Weiss' office. Curious light blue eyes observe them as they leave, and the white-haired woman reaches over to pick up her scroll. She presses the speed dial and places the scroll next to her ear.

"What's up?"

Weiss stares at the closing door. "We might have a problem,"

———

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.


	2. Chapter 2

"It's ridiculous! I gave up everything for her and she does _that_! Ugh, stupid pretty girls,"

Jaune awkwardly pats Blake on the back while they proceed to down spoonfuls of cookie dough ice cream. He glances at Ren, who's way too busy at distracting Nora with his nutritious beverage (yes, algae _is_ nutritious, Nora). His gaze turns to Pyrrha, far too happy to be sitting next to an oblivious Jaune.

"Uh, yes! Screw… Weiss," Jaune agrees hesitantly. He scratches the back of his head. "What exactly did she do again?"

Blake snaps their gaze to Jaune. They set down the ice cream carton and sigh. "She betrayed me,"

"But, I wasn't exactly there to hear—"

"Jaune!" Pyrrha loudly interrupts with an uncomfortably wide smile. Blake rolls their eyes at the redhead's attempt to steer Jaune's attention to her, but they say nothing. "Why don't you and I talk in the kitchen! About very unimportant things! That has absolutely _nothing to do_ with Blake and Weiss!"

The blonde is dragged out by the small amount of meat on his arm, but nods nonetheless. Blake stabs their spoon into the ice cream and pushes it away.

"First she betrays me, _then_ she lies about what's actually been going on around Vale!"

Ren and Nora freeze up at the last part of Blake's sentence and turn their heads to stare at them. Blake, not sensing the pair of eyes, continues to ramble on and on.

"Seriously! I'm an observant person, and I will find out what she's hiding. I'm excellent at observing," Blake grinds their teeth together.

Vale had always been an open book when Blake was around years ago. Filled to the brim with fairs and festivals and people conversing happily on the streets. What happened to take such a huge step back from how it used to be? First, Roman Torchwick moved to town, then the White Fang, and now this nonsense about dust experiments? Nothing is right.

It's probably, and totally not because of bias, because of Weiss Schnee. Ever since she had come to Vale years ago for college, Vale has been disturbing at times. Crime rates had skyrocketed higher than Anima; and that's opening a new can of worms. Murder went up by at least ten percent (or _suicide_ as the police called it), robberies happened more than once a day, and even breaking and entering spiked.

Their rational thinking has a list of reasonable and more realistic ways that Vale's crimes could have risen, but Blake's more chaotic side… just despises Weiss with a strong bond.

Nora jumps up from the other couch. "Everything is a-okay, Blake! _Except_ for the insane amount of criminal activity and the fact that Ren still thinks his green protein goop is good," She stands tall (as tall as she can) with her fists on her hips and a glint in her teal eyes as she looks menacingly down at Blake. "I think you just need to calm that pretty little head of yours! Nothing is happening behind the scenes and my words are _completely_ my own and not from someone else's mind."

Blake's mouth drops open as Ren sighs with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. Nora nods, as if she accepts what she says. "But if that _were_ to be the case, I think they have issues!"

"Of… course," Blake grins tiny. Nora can be eccentric enough as it is, and her dreams are getting out of control. Blake looks to Ren with desperate eyes. "Ren, do you know anyone else I can interview? I know you all have nothing to do with this and have no idea what's going on, but I kinda need other sources that aren't friends."

"Very observant, indeed," Ren bows his head so Blake cannot see the expression that crosses his face. He lifts back up. "How may I help?"

———

"God, we've been following Nikos forever now!" The sniper snarks, forcing himself away from the rifle. The woman leaned against the wall on the floor next to him gives him a pointed look. "Don't give me that look. We all know that the only reason _you're_ here is for special attention. Wouldn't expect anything else from a street rat."

The woman scoffs, but there's a hint of a smile on her lips. She ends the call with their boss and pushes herself off of the ground. "Soon. Boss says that Nikos has been protected for too long. We take her out and their whole operation goes 'boom'!" The man smirks. "But not yet." The smirk falls into a scowl. The woman snorts at the man's eagerness. "Only when the time is right do we strike."

The man returns to watch through his sniper scope. "You mean when _I_ take the shot and scramble their forces,"

"No, no. When we take another strong fighter they have because they're too arrogant,"

"Then why don't we go higher up the food chain? Makes 'em vulnerable,"

"Then it'll start a war," The woman answers calmly. She stares across the street and down at the house. She tuts. "Looks like a guest is leaving."

The man huffs. "Man, just that cat-journalist… Didn't the ID we stole say that Faunus is a 'they'?"

"Uh, yeah? We may be bad, but everyone should respect gender,"

"Can't see the problem there,"

———

Blake grumbles on their way to Cardinal Avenue and finally rips off their glasses. The constant downpour of rain is messing up their need to see. They squint their eyes at one of the houses then look down at their scroll. They look back up.

This is the place.

They make their way up the driveway and the hard-to-see stairs to stand at the door. They swipe the rain off of their glasses and frown at the stupid smudges that would never go away, but they place the glasses back on their face anyway. Blake practices smiling a few times and rings the doorbell.

The brown door has several clicks and near-silent curses coming through from the other side, and Blake checks their watch at how long it takes to unlock the door. A few long moments later, Blake takes the initiative to knock on the door. It opens with an ominous creak. Blake tilts their head to the side and leans forward to call through the threshold.

"Hello? I'm Blake Belladonna, and I'm investigating the disappearances of fifteen people around the kingdom of Vale! Is any home?" Blake hears a clang and a curse from further into the house. Shoving down the tingles racing down their spine, Blake places a shaking hand on the door and pushes it open. "Hello?"

Blake knows better than to run into a possibly dangerous house alone and underequipped, but the curiosity has the better of them. They step warily inside of the house and make their way to the clattering noise.

"You might ask for an ID, but it fell out of my pocket somewhere and… nevermind. Is anyone here?"

Blake peeks around the corner and into the kitchen, and sees multiple rats on the counters and floor. They don't stop to gauge their reaction, continue to nibble on the same thing if Blake's sense of smell is anything to go by.

They turn around to go deeper into the house, taking in the static on the TV, an open window, and the dead clock on the wall. Blake pulls on the strap of their messenger bag as they shuffle up the stairs.

"Is anyone up here? I-I saw the TV on, but I don't want to assume," Blake chuckles nervously when they reach the second floor and come face to face with two doors, each having a strange smell in them. They're both cracked open—not enough to see through, but open enough. Blake chooses the right door first.

They grab the cold golden knob and cautiously open the door. Blake sighs when they only see the person they're searching for only sleeping. They open their mouth but stop short to smack a hand to their face to pinch their nostrils closed.

Multiple used syringes are on the nightstand along with some sort of paper, all coated in a thin layer of dust. Blake inches closer and closer, recognizing the person on the bed. They know those specific tattoos on those arms and the famous ears on top of the person's head.

"Sienna? Sienna Khan, I thought you were still in Anima?" Blake sets their hand on a very stiff shoulder. Taking a closer look, they can see the discoloration around Sienna's neck and head. Blake shakes Sienna's shoulder. "Ren never said the owner of the house, but said the person is reliable. Are you okay? Do I need to call someone?"

The Faunus is still stiff. Blake frowns and moves their other hand to join the other. "Sienna, I'm turning you over,"

Blake grunts as they turn the Faunus over in her sleep, but they finally catch it. Blake stumbles back in silent horror, tripping in the entrance of the doorway and falling backwards in their attempt to escape the room. They end up knocking their head against the other door and opening it with a bang. Turning their head slowly, Blake's eyes travel over each and every single thing in that room.

Fifteen bodies lined up on the walls. A sixteenth one dropped haphazardly on the floor. Many of them have chunks taken out of them, and Blake understood what the rats downstairs were eating.

At 8:41 at night in a peaceful neighborhood, a shrill scream of terror echoes out of a house.

———

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know those writer's dreams you get? I've been having them for this story, and let's just say I'm already sorry.
> 
> By the way, I plan on doing something... nice for Blake in the future. Not bullshitting because it's gonna happen. I'm nice sometimes.

"Seventeen dead bodies, one of them still fresh," The lead detective grunts. Stretchers with black, human-sized bags on them came strolling out. "One assumed a suicide and the others are murders. I should've gone back to Vacuo when I had the chance."

Blake watches from the safety of the back of an extra ambulance as many bodies are rushed out of the house. They don't register the multiple new reporters on the other side of the yellow tape yelling for comments or the many questions from the cop in front of them. Fingers snap in front of their face, and Blake focuses back in.

"Uh, yes… to all of that,"

The officer blinks. "Miss, I asked if you were alright,"

Blake stares at the last few body bags wheeled out of the house. "Fine,"

"Uh huh. If you wanna skip questions right now—what's your name?"

"Blake,"

"Hi, Blake! I'm Officer Yang Xiao Long!" The officer replies with a small step to block Blake's view of the house. Blake finally looks into lilac eyes. "I like your cat ears! They go great with your, uh, bag?"

"Right,"

Xiao Long clears her throat in an attempt to regain her calm exterior. She's never really broken open like this to someone before.

"Blake, I need to get your statement," Blake nods dumbly. They can hear the blood pumping quickly through their veins and arteries, the thumps must be obvious to Xiao Long. "Why were you here?"

The way it's underlined is threatening, accusing. Almost as if she thinks that Blake had something to do with this, but the tone isn't right. The way the question is asked isn't threatening, and instead is morbidly curious. Xiao Long isn't jumping to conclusions about their involvement.

"I'm a for-hire journalist. I take the cases that nobody touches because they see them as too dangerous or strange," Blake hugs themself tighter. "I branched out to Sanus and found out about fifteen missing people. I-I got a tip from a friend to check here because they knew the owner of the house.

"Who knew it'd escalate into _this_?" Blake bites their lip hard enough to taste the metal on their tongue. They sigh at long last. "I just wanted to report a story about missing people, not dive head first into some murder mystery."

Xiao Long finishes writing. "Is this all?"

"Uh, no—"

"Blake Belladonna!"

"Hey, wrong side of the tape, miss!"

Blake turns their attention to the ball of anger speeding their way. Of course, because how can a day like this get even worse?

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been because you can't stay still for five minutes?!" Blake rolls their eyes. "Seriously! I mean—"

"Ice Queen," Xiao Long nods at the ball of anger. Weiss harrumphs at the blonde in front of her, nose scrunched in distaste.

"Yang. I thought you worked _behind the scenes_ ," Blake eyes Weiss wearily as the two in front of the cat Faunus bicker.

Xiao Long narrows her eyes dangerously. "This one looked suspicious," She tugs on the sleeve of her right arm and scowls. "Didn't anyone teach you not to interrupt anyone while they did a job?"

"You blonde oaf,"

"Ice Queen,"

"Uh, Blake?"

Two pairs of eyes snap to where the third voice had come from, staring at the seemingly nervous Blake. They reel back to straighten themselves up, cheeks tinted pink.

"If you'll excuse me, Ice Queen, I have business here," Xiao Long waves her notepad in Weiss' offended face.

Weiss sneers. "I have a _friend_ to take care of!" She plops down next to Blake. "Isn't that right, Blake?"

Blake moves their head up and down in a bemused haze. They couldn't stop their mind from running at how these two know each other. One is a well-known lawyer and the other is a cop, so paths might have crossed once or twice, but with how Weiss knows that Xiao Long doesn't work up front with people… it's strange. Were they friends at one point?

They must have been. If the name-calling and the random bits of information (that Blake gathered) is anything to go by, at least. Maybe they were partners before Weiss and Blake were together, or even afterwards.

"Since Weiss here won't leave an officer alone to let her do her job," Xiao Long glares furiously at the smaller woman next to Blake. Her eyes soften when they move back to Blake, in a trance. "Did you see anything suspicious? Even the smallest of details may help us."

Blake closes their eyes to flash back to twenty minutes ago. They nod. "Yes. Yes, when I was knocking at the door, there was someone in there, but it didn't sound like Sienna Khan. Probably a guy, but there was definitely a girl,"

"Care to elaborate?" Weiss grimaces as she flicks dirt from her designer pants.

"Men tend to step heavier and can carry larger weights than most women. If that new body was up there, the man must've carried it," Blake shivers at the thought of those soulless honey-color eyes staring straight at them from the floor. He had a bullet put into his skull execution style, same as the other fifteen. "And the woman was with Sienna Khan. Not sure how long she's been dead, b-but she doesn't wear perfume.

"And then… Uh, and there was an open window. The TV was on…" Blake shook their head, trying desperately to remember anything and everything they could.

The syringes. Why would Sienna Khan use anything when she didn't even believe in modern medicine?

"Um… There were used syringes on the nightstand with a-a piece of paper,"

Xiao Long narrows her eyes at Blake, staring through them as if to see for herself if Blake is lying. "Syringes?"

Weiss scoffs. "That's what they said, you brute,"

Xiao Long and Weiss share a similar look of dislike of one another when Blake turns their attention to where the investigation goes on. Did they taint possible evidence when they practically broke into a house? Was this bizarre investigation going to draw unwanted attention to them? What is Weiss up to, and how does she know about these people?

The cat Faunus jerks when dulled nails bite into their arm, pulling them away from wild thoughts and accusations. Weiss impatiently waits until Blake fully turns in her direction to speak.

"You're staying with me tonight. Frankly, I don't trust you not to run off to find more corpses, so I'll take you in for the night," At Blake's clear hesitation, Weiss untenses. "I'll call Pyrrha in the morning since you're staying with her for your 'investigation'. Now, come along!"

Weiss hops down from the back of the ambulance and begins to strut away, stopping to whisper something to Xiao Long. The officer makes a noise of acknowledgement and grimaces. Blake stands and meanders over to Weiss.

"Gods, you walk slow. Keep up to avoid the press!"

Blake squeaks and clutches their bag close to them, stumbling after the fast-paced lawyer. They couldn't remember the last time they willingly followed Weiss back to her house.

Xiao Long watches them leave the crime scene. She glances down at the notes she collected and hums. Just what are they doing?

———

"A for-hire journalist," The sniper man and his partner glance at each other warily. They snap back to attention when their boss slams her fist down on her desk.

"Yes, ma'am. Busting our operations without meaning to," The sniper crosses his arms. "The bull took care of the former White Fang leader and left us to clean up."

The woman nods. "Yeah, and I don't think the cops'll fall for overdosing when there's stab wounds on her,"

"It doesn't matter," The boss smoothly responds while looking over papers. Eyes narrow at the information. "Nobody will know anything. Not even this 'Blake Belladonna' will find out anything."

"What should we do?"

The boss hums, lips quirked up. "We move up our plans,"

———

Weiss leans against the doorway of her bedroom and watches her friend(?) lie on her bed. She draws her bottom lip between pearly white teeth to gnaw on it.

How has Blake matured so much in three years? It's like just yesterday they had their hands threaded through her white hair, a slight noticeable roundness to their face. Now they're older, jaw defined and as sharp as the cutlery knives Weiss has on her counter. Have those shadows always been under their eyes, or did they appear over time; after their grueling and messy break-up years ago?

Ringing from the other room startles Weiss into leaving the doorway, halting her eyes from wandering lower from a tired face. She pushes herself off of the wooden doorway and pulls the cuffs of her light blue dress shirt down. Sighing, Weiss careens to her scroll that she tossed onto the couch next to Blake's messenger bag.

"What is it?" She hisses into the speaker once she immediately accepts the call.

A chuckle comes from the other end. "Calm down, Ice Queen. Is Blake asleep?"

Weiss moves her attention back to her bedroom where Blake lies motionless and with a dead look in her bed like a corpse. She grunts. "No, Yang. But she's zoned out. I tried to give her—"

"No, princess, all I asked is if she was asleep. I don't want some full examination and analysis because you two were together once upon a time," Yang says snarkily. "Now open the door. If she's zoned out, she's probably in shock or some shit. Flashbacks and all that."

Weiss chucks her scroll back onto the couch and stomps to the door and flings it open. Yang lazily glances up, still in uniform.

"Y'think that if the person you still like is back there, you'd be a little more quiet," The blonde pockets her own phone and keeps her hands shoved into the pockets of her pants. Weiss glares at her. "You gonna let me in?"

Weiss steps to the side, startled when Yang saunters inside without permission. She closes the door softly and does a 180 to tsk at the tattered blue uniform.

"What the hell were you thinking, Yang?!" Weiss shouts quietly. Her hands clench into fists at her sides, signifying clear anger. "You aren't a cop, and you could've been arrested. If you were, _I_ definitely wouldn't be representing you in court, so the prosecutor would tear into you! Everything would be ruined!"

Yang calmly plops down on the pristine white loveseat and crosses her legs, head on her propped up fist. "You done? Good, 'cause I had it all under control. My dad isn't a cop anymore, so the uniform is just fine, and I had Tukson whip up a fake badge before he… was found at the house. Plus, the VPD isn't the brightest of cops,"

"While that may be true, Tukson isn't on our side, so why would he make you anything?"

"God, have you forgotten about the neutral people?"

"N-No, I haven't!"

"Good," Yang smirks. She unfolds her arm to lean back against the couch. "'Cause there are a lot of people in the middle who never picked sides. They're neutral, and, for a price, you can get anything."

Weiss rolls her eyes. "Anything? Why don't I pay someone to hit Blake over the head with a shovel? They're only here for the missing people, but they've found out important things,"

"Like?"

"Like how Pyrrha accidentally told Blake about my dust experiments," Weiss sharply snaps when Yang raises her brow. "I know. Even though she didn't mean it, I think I'm keeping Pyrrha out of the loop on this next one. Unless someone else says otherwise?"

Yang silently answers the hidden question. She allows the silence to build before clicking her tongue and uncrossing her legs to sit up. "I'm in a high position, but I'm still not that high. We're practically in the same playing fields,"

"Yes, of course! The blonde _bimbo_ —"

Footsteps approach near silently, as if there were a ninja in Weiss' house. The two women tense and whip their heads in the direction of Weiss' bedroom. Curious amber eyes take in the scene and the tension in the air.

"Uh…" Blake fidgets in place, ears falling flat. "Is something wrong?"

Weiss clears her throat and smiles tightly. "Of course not! I just don't want _Yang_ here to get in over her head. Are you alright?"

Blake's ribs move in an unsteady breath, drawing icy eyes to the area. Weiss raises a brow but says nothing.

"Peachy. Not like I just saw seventeen dead bodies, two of them I once knew,"

Yang perks up. "You knew two of them?"

"Yes. Tukson and Sienna Khan," The cat Faunus supplies the information absentmindedly. They aren't focused, eyes cloudy while their breathing is choppy.

"So—"

"Yang, that's enough. Get out," Yang sputters and stands up furiously, lilac eyes shifting between two colors. Weiss shoots her a look. "We will continue our conversation at a later date. For now, I'm going to spend time with an old friend."

Yang and Weiss stand face to… breast, as if challenging the other to a duel. Their faces were set in firm and angry lines while hands clench. At last, Yang scoffs.

"Fine. Whatever. Text me later," Yang's eyes roam Blake's confused face, smirk on her face. "Try not to be around death next time. Vale might think something's up with you."

Turning on her heel, Yang marches to the door, opens it, and goes out while allowing the door to slam behind her. Blake looks to Weiss tiredly.

"Why was Officer Xiao Long here?"

"Just call her Yang. She says 'Officer Xiao Long' makes her sound old like her dad,"

"Uh…"

Weiss crosses her arms and glares at Blake's flat chest. "Are you going to take that off?"

"What?" Blake looks down at their chest then back at Weiss. "What do you mean?"

"You never take that thing off, and it needs to be washed. Along with the rest of your clothes," Blake fumbles for a quick answer to get Weiss off of their heels, but halts when Weiss holds up a hand. "I'm not stupid, Blake, that's why I'm a lawyer. You can wear a sports bra; top drawer. Just for tonight… Please?"

Blake still hesitates, clutching at where their binder ends above their navel. It's not that they don't _want_ to take it off, but it makes everything feel better. They love and wear the binder so much that they forget that they can wear something else just for a short while. But Weiss always made them take it off in fear of them cracking their ribs.

"Fine. Okay, j-just give me a minute,"

Blake disappears for ten minutes, enough time for Weiss to call Pyrrha and tell her the situation now rather than in the morning. Pyrrha thankfully apologizes much to Weiss' many reassurances that it was more than okay. By the time Blake returns, Weiss went to the kitchen to make some food.

"Is… Is this good?"

Weiss removes her focused gaze from the stove and nearly drops her spatula at how eerily domestic this situation seems. Blake anxiously claws at the hem of one of the larger t-shirts Weiss had, as if determined to flatten what's already being binded down more comfortably. They're wearing the largest pair of black shorts, too.

"Perfect!" Weiss rushes to say. She flinches and hisses when oil from the skillet pops out onto her arm. "Dammit. I'm making you some of that fish stuff you like."

"You remember?"

"Of course I remember!" Weiss scoffs playfully, flipping the piece of fish over. "I don't forget anything. Plus, I made this for you practically everyday!"

Blake's eyes have unfogged a little more than earlier, a twinkle in their eyes shining through. "And you still keep your mail on the table, I see,"

"Old habits die hard," Weiss transfers the fish to the plate nearby and grins nervously as she turns the stove off. She sets the pan down. "You can eat on the couch."

"On the 'Do Not Ever Eat On' couch? The white one?"

"Yes,"

Blake takes the plate Weiss had picked up and thrusted at them. "Thank you, Weiss,"

Weiss watches them go before blurting something she shouldn't have said. "I know it seems like I betrayed you, and I'm sorry,"

Blake freezes in the doorway to the kitchen. They sigh and their shoulders slump. "You know what he did, and you still defended him,"

"But I didn't—"

"Not now, Weiss. It still… It still hurts,"

Weiss slumps on the counter and grimaces. She holds her face in her hands and groans. Of course the wound is still fresh. Three years without Blake because of something she did. Three years angry that that bastard roams free everyday. Three years since Weiss has been truly happy, never using a genuine smile. All because of him.

It's been three years since Weiss Schnee, ex-heiress to the Schnee Dust Company name, allowed Adam Taurus to walk out of court a free man while Blake suffered because of what he did.

———


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.

By the time Weiss would have woken up, Blake is long gone from her apartment. They had sneakily gotten dressed in yesterday's clothing, gathered their belongings, and left the residence.

They made their way across town to retrieve their duffle bag with their newly developed laptop inside of it. Blake blinks the sleep—or lack thereof—out of their exhausted eyes. The sun had barely broken into the sky in a gradient of color, and Blake is going to hate this day.

" _Heads up_!"

A speeding red and black ball crashes into Blake, sending them both down to the ground. Blinking their eyes open with a hiss, the Faunus meets startling silver.

"Gah! I-I am _so_ sorry! Are you okay? Do I need to call the hospital? I'm…" The person looks down, up again, then back down before jumping up sheepishly. "Sorry! Uh, sorry, I was testing something."

Blake takes the hand the silver-eyed woman juts out and pulls. They brush their hands together to stop the stinging that happened when they fell to the ground.

"It's fine. Don't apologize,"

"Sorry! I-I mean, uh, not sorry,"

As they smile softly, Blake shifts from left foot to right. "Since I get to meet people everyday now, what's your name?"

"I'm Ruby Rose! Ooh! This is so exciting!"

"Blake,"

"Well, Blake, I do believe that we," Ruby throws an arm up and around Blake's shoulders, essentially pulling them down a few inches. "are gonna be good friends. Weiss doesn't say she's my best friend, but she knows that _I_ and really cool."

"You know Weiss Schnee?" Blake gently pushes the surprisingly hard-to-move arm off of their person.

Ruby snorts and cackles. "Of course I do! With her and—"

"Ruby, are you okay?" An orange-haired woman with worried green eyes runs down the sidewalk with Officer Xiao Long—or _Yang_ — in tow.

"Psh, yeah. Look, Yang, I made a new friend! It took me twenty-four years to have this many friends, but I did it," Ruby once again pulls Blake down with an arm over their shoulder. Blake grunts.

Yang eyes the Faunus. "Uh huh. So how's everything with Weiss?"

Blake narrows their eyes. "Peachy. Nothing like sleeping in my ex's bed. Someone I don't trust,"

Ruby and the other woman glance at each other with a sigh. Yang had The Look on her face.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have never seen you before. I am Penny Polendina!" The orange-haired woman salutes with a huge grin.

"Blake. So," Blake looks between Ruby and Yang. "how do you two know each other?"

"We're sisters, of course! Can't you see the resemblance?" Ruby zooms next to Yang and smiles innocently, unlike the devilish smirk Yang wore.

As they look at the sisters, Blake picks up small things that show resemblance—same eye shape, jawline, nose. Other than that, Blake couldn't tell that they're sisters.

Yang sees the puzzlement along with the slightest tilt of Blake's head. "We have different mothers,"

"Ah," Blake nods. They really have to get their belongings then meet up with their friend. "So you're a cop, and you…" They finally notice a metallic backpack on Penny's back as well as strange metallic boots on Ruby's feet. "Are you an engineer?"

"Technically, I'm a mechanic, but my boss don't care what I do as long as I fix cars," Ruby proudly rubs the heel of her hand over her chest with a faint grin.

"Uncle Qrow doesn't care what we do, though,"

Penny nods. "Yang is right! Your uncle even gave you a small workshop to build things in,"

Blake pushes their glasses up their nose as it begins to slide down. "I have to get going, but it was nice meeting you two. Officer Xiao Long," The cat Faunus nods at the officer and receives a wink in return. Blake steps around the trio and walks backwards while finishing their conversation. "I'll see you all around."

Yang shakes her head. She leans close to Ruby and whispers something before she jogs to catch up with Blake.

Ruby watched her sister go, annoyed. "There she goes,"

"At least Yang is interested in someone!"

Now beside Blake, Yang shoves her hands into the pockets of her coat and whistles. A look of confusion burns against the side of Yang's face as she whistles a tune, but she doesn't speak first.

Finally, Blake sighs and opens their mouth. "Officer Xiao Long, are you following me?"

"Who knows?"

"Uh," Blake's ears twitch down at a higher pitched whistle. "Please don't do that so close; it hurts my ears."

Yang flushes, embarrassed by her actions that she unintentionally caused Blake harm. "Sorry. I just wanted to… apologize for how pushy I might've been last night. Might not've said much to you, but, y'know,"

"Apology accepted,"

The two walk in a comfortable, yet still awkward, silence. When Pyrrha's apartment complex comes into view, Blake breathes in, tense. Yang glances down when she hears the sharp inhale.

"You good?"

"I know Pyrrha will be grateful I didn't get hurt, but she doesn't like when I run off. Oh, she's gonna bring me to that fire department she works at and handcuff me to her desk,"

"It can't be that bad! Pyrrha isn't _that_ protective over anyone except Jaune,"

———

"I can't believe you _actually_ cuffed 'em to the coffee table,"

Pyrrha shoots a withering glare at Yang who holds up her hands in a sign of surrender. Blake grumbles, arms crossed across their chest while their feet are de-shoed and cuffed to the coffee table by their ankles.

"Told you,"

"Since when did you, Yang, make new friends?" Pyrrha raises her brow.

"Puh-lease. I don't make friends, friends pile around me,"

Pyrrha whips her head towards the couch, finger pointed menacingly. "And you!" Blake smiles sheepishly and sinks into the couch. "I care about you and the others too much to let you run around without your Buddy! Buddy System."

Yang snorts. "You still use the buddy system?" She stops laughing at the glare sent her way again. "Yes. It's a really good system to use."

Blake groans.

———

"Since we work from the shadows, we should be able to work our way into their operation," A woman with wavy dark brown hair, covering one eye, says to her boss. "That way, we can use the element of surprise when we betray them."

"And if this… plan were to _fail_ like last time?"

The sniper and his partner glance at each other. They couldn't help but remember the last attempt they made. It had failed horribly when _Taurus_ took a sword to some chick's arm, failing to notice that she was helping, not maiming, a Faunus.

"It won't, ma'am, because Adam isn't going with us. He is to stay with the White Fang and Torchwick, out of sight. Only when we're ready will they come into the light,"

A pale white hand clenches into a fist next to her cheek. "Do not fail me again. You might need some… encouragement if this were to go awry,"

The woman nods her head. "Of course,"

"Get out of my sight. You three will join their group and gather information. Pyrrha Nikos is no longer a target as long as she stays oblivious," The woman's eyes flick up. "And that cat Faunus, Blake Belladonna, keep an eye on h—"

"Them," The sniper absentmindedly mumbles under his breath. The woman beside him nods. Too bad the bigger baddie is close-minded.

———

"Hello?"

Ruby jolts from underneath the pickup truck she was fixing. She bumps her forehead on the underside of the vehicle while trying to slide out with the creeper board and not get stuck like last time.

She sits up, hitting her head again, and curses under her breath. Silver eyes open slowly to make sure oil wouldn't travel into her eyes.

"Excuse me, but we're lost,"

Ruby glances up at three people from the ground. She looks a mess compared to high-end Vale clothing, oil on her face and hands and torso.

"Of course! What d'you guys need? An oil change? Trouble with the engine?"

"I was thinking along the lines of…" The lead woman taps a finger to her chin. "Relics need to be brought to the battlefield."

Ruby tenses and stands from the creeper board. She eyes the three up and down. A man with silver hair and strong looking legs, a darker woman spinning a pen between her fingers with revolvers in holders on her back, and a paler woman with hair covering one eye.

Since they know…

Ruby nods. "Tonight, meet here when the lights go out,"

"That's all we ask,"

"I'm Ruby, by the way," Ruby thrust out her hand.

The pale woman takes it. "Cinder Fall. This is Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. We're happy to be a part of the cause,"

———

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block AND school is a bitch. I didn't really have much inspiration, but I wanted Blake to meet more characters and slowly develop the story. It's not that good, but hey, it's something.
> 
> I got a Tumblr! Go harass me on it: gayandreadytopartay

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.


End file.
